Vaction Bible School
The Vacation Bible School During the summer vacation Alex refuses to go to YMCA soccer camp and thinks that there for her mother is forced to let her stay home. Or at least the apartment complex she lives in. She refuses these however, foolishly. Alex is forced to go to the Vacation Bible School. "The first day, she was sent home with a note saying that shorts weren't allowed; girls had to wear long pants or dresses. So Alexandra wore long pants, even in the sweltering heat of summer. One of the other girls whispered confidentially to her that skirts were much cooler, which Alexandra supposed was probably true, but she'd wear a dress when hell froze over. Saying that aloud got her sent home with another note. After that, she managed to avoid getting sent home with any more notes, but Larkin Mills Baptist Bible School was week after week of unending misery. She wasn't overtly defiant, but the Bible school teachers were very concerned about her soul nonetheless; she refused to pray or memorize Bible verses or sing hymns, and she was resistant to all their 'counseling' attempts. She counted down the days until summer would end and she could go back to Charmbridge Academy, whose teachers were sometimes just as crazy as those at Larkin Mills Baptist Bible School, and not always as nice, but at least they taught things that made sense to her. She wanted to do magic again so very badly. Then, in the last week of Vacation Bible School, came the Evils of Witchcraft. It was Alexandra's unchurched upbringing that made her Bible school teachers' sudden assault on magic and witchcraft so shocking. She didn't think Muggles believed in magic; she never expected to find out that some of them did, and thought it was all dark and evil. The Evils of Witchcraft lessons started with a condemnation of a popular children's book series, which Alexandra had read and found entertaining, albeit completely wrong in every detail when it came to magic. These books, the teachers told them, encouraged witchcraft, which led to devil worship. Alexandra spent the next couple of days aghast and appalled. She knew that if she argued, they'd just think she was lying or crazy. Unless they actually believed her, which might be even worse. So she folded her arms and glowered silently, while the teachers talked about all the other things that constituted 'witchcraft.' But the last straw was when Amy Gavello raised her hand and asked if it was true that the Bible said that witches should be put to death, and one of the teachers immediately replied, "Yes, thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." A couple of the other teachers hastily clarified, adding that the Bible also said Thou shalt not kill, which meant they weren't allowed to go around burning witches. But then during lunch, Amy and her friends started talking about witches' familiars, which according to Amy were actually demons in disguise. Then Davan MacLeod (who made quite a show of his love for Jesus during Prayer & Confession) said he thought cats were evil anyway. Then he started talking about the stray cats and crows he'd shot with his air gun, laughing as he dramatically described the noises they made. While the other boys laughed, and the girls just made faces, Alexandra felt something snap inside her. Her wand was always in a pocket or in her book bag, because she didn't like leaving it at home, but she'd never been so tempted to use it on a Muggle before. Davan suddenly made gagging noises and spit up the milk he'd been drinking. Amy did the same thing, choking on the fruit juice she had just swallowed. Then one of her friends shrieked and dropped her sandwich as if it had bitten her. "There are worms in my sandwich!" she screamed. Around the lunch table, milk instantly curdled, juice went sour, and food became inedible, rotten and crawling with bugs. Alexandra's erstwhile classmates ran for the restrooms, or threw up right there at the table." Category:Larkin Mills